The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has called for new standards for digital currencies like bitcoin after determining a lack of clarity and guidance on digital currencies in the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

The AASB, a government agency that develops and maintains financial reporting standards relevant to private and public sectors of the Australian economy, published a new paper in the weeks leading up to a December meeting, titled “Digital Currency – A case for standard setting activity” [PDF].

In it, principal author Henri Venter argues that existing accounting frameworks where digital currencies could be accounted for are insufficient, noting that digital currencies “should be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in profit or loss.” Broadly speaking, the Australian Govt paper is fundamentally highlighting the lack of an accounting standard by the IASB when dealing with digital currencies and other commodities or intangible assets.

Indeed, under current IFRS standards and accounting literature, a digital currency does not meet the definition of cash